A Call to Adventure

Happy New Year! The schooner departed for another Call to Adventure voyage on December 27 and returned to port on New Year's Eve. First mate Zach Griffin drove down from Arkansas for the trip and bonded with the boys through sail handling and confidence training. We sailed north to Charlotte Harbor in light rain and dropping temperatures. By the following day sunny skies prevailed and stayed that way for the duration of the trip. We day-sailed for the first three days, picking a different anchorage each night. On our final day underway we anchored off of Picnic Island at the mouth of the Caloosahatchee River and went ashore for a fogata (bonfire). We continued in our study of the Beatitudes and focused on self control and the decision making process as young men. When asked, most of the crew would say that their favorite part of the voyage was either 'pillaging' the village of Boca Grande or the famous schooner burgers we had for lunch aboard one day. Both Zach and I are very proud of these young men, the schooner is such an equalizer when it comes to teaching teenagers. One of the young men has expressed an interest in crewing to Haiti and the Bahamas this spring, now that would be a New Horizon!
Wishing you fair winds in the New Year.... Capt. Bob

Star of the Sea Comes Home

After a month of hard work the schooner returned to Naples on December 1, 2011. I would like to thank Mr. Wayne Huizenga Jr. and the crew at Rybovich Boatyard North for all their help in our recent bottom job. New friend and volunteer Kevin came in on two occasions and helped with the black hull painting and the nasty task of shoveling up 4 tons of coal slag dust after the hull had been blasted, not a fun day! I would also like to thank Bill and Sea Hawk Premium Yacht Finishes for their generous donation of the material needed to perform the maintenance. We used Sea Hawk two part epoxy and anti-fouling bottom paint to complete the job. I am very impressed with the performance of their products! The epoxy is a high build formula that allows for thick coatings with fewer layers, and the ablative anti-fouling paint will provide years of protection from underwater critters. In an answer to prayer, a generous donor came forward and provided the money needed to pay for the coal slag blasting and other associated costs incurred while on the hard. It was a long month, I put over 3,000 miles on Ellen's car traveling from Bonita Springs to Rivera Beach and for the times that I stayed in Rivera Beach for multiple days at a time I want to thank Rick and Shelly for hosting me in their beautiful home. I'm looking forward to the upcoming Call to Adventure trip over the Christmas holiday. We are sailing with some teen boys from the New Horizons Teen Program. We hope for them to receive their scuba certification on this trip. Former crewman to Haiti, Zach Griffin, will be joining on this trip as first mate. We need donations to feed the boys on this trip so if you haven't already made a charitable donation for 2011 please consider this opportunity.
Have a blessed Christmas and a peaceful New Year! Capt Bob

Great Product Equals Great Bottom Job!

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Still on the hard

The schooner has been out of the water for a month now and I'm looking forward to splashing her soon! When we hauled out all looked good until the pressure washer started peeling back the epoxy barrier coat (separates the steel from the anti-fouling paint). The barrier coat had failed from age more than anything else but to reapply the bottom has to be blasted to prepare the steel. The whole process is very expensive and my donated bottom job had turned into a real concern. Standing firm in prayer is all I can do......and did.....what a blessing when a generous donor came forward to help with the yard expenses and Sea Hawk Paints has donated all the material!!! I hope to have her coated by Thanksgiving and home the following week. Talk about a reason to give thanks this year................ I have many! Capt. Bob

Re-fit time for Star of the Sea

The schooner is now on the hard in West Palm Beach for a much needed re-fit. Mr. Wayne Huizenga Jr., owner of the Rybovich Superyacht Marina, has generously donated a bottom job for the Star. As you may know rust never sleeps so I've been grinding and sanding for the past two weeks. I've been very impressed with the facility and crew at Rybovich, everyone has gone out of their way to be helpful. Plans are already in the works for the next trip to Cat Island and Haiti. Hurricane Irene devastated most of Cat Island but Brother Moss reports that the orphanage sustained light damage with some missing windows and gutters being the worst of it. My mom and sister have organized a sewing effort to make 200 dresses and 200 pairs of shorts for delivery on the next trip! The young men in the Call to Adventure program are now studying to receive their scuba diving certification. We will be sailing to the keys for their open water check dive over the Christmas Holidays. Until then the Star has several fundraising commitments to fulfill and an all girl overnight sail in November with my wife Ellen and Sarah Egner a marine biologist at Marine Lab and co founder of EcoKeys LLC of Key Largo. Please consider New Horizons of Southwest Florida in your year end giving. We rely on your support to continue our work with those in need. Capt. Bob



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A Call to Adventure

The schooner hadn't even had time to grow a barnacle before she was off on a new adventure with some young men from the Super Teens program. Ricardo, Luis, Brandon, Juan, and Javier along with hired first mate James Derby came together as a top notch crew. We sailed to Charlotte Harbor and picked deep anchorages each night so the guys could show off their diving skills! Using the Beatitudes as our teaching guide, our daily Bible study came alive in the marine environment. All of these young men have been in the program since they were in the first grade, now in high school they make Ellen and I proud of the young men they are becoming. Many thanks to those whose financial support made this Call to Adventure possible!

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26'06" North 81'47" West

We arrived home early on the 14 th of July. Star of the Sea performed beautifully on this voyage and I'll be getting her ready for "A Call to Adventure" trip this coming week. A Call to Adventure seeks to help guide young men in finding and developing their natural talents in a challenging nautical environment. Our mission trip to Cat Island and Lle a Vache would not be possible without the generous donations from many of you. Thank you for making this important work possible and many thanks to those who pray for our safety and the success of the voyage!
Capt. Bob


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